Mykhailo Mudryk was controversially denied a penalty in the dying embers of Ukraine's final European Championship qualifier against Italy on Monday night. The 22-year-old winger, who stole the show at the BayArena in Germany, was brought down by Bryan Cristante inside the box, but the referee waved play on.
Oleksandr Zubkov drove into the opposition box, waiting for a teammate to make a run or create space for him to run into. Soon enough, Mudryk received his signal and darted through the Italy defence as the Shakhtar Donetsk midfielder pinged a pass towards the penalty spot.
Cristante, who was shielding the heart of his side's backline, lunged in to intercept Zubkov's pass but the Chelsea ace was too quick for him. The Roma midfielder's outstretched leg brought Mudryk down and, as he clutched his ankle, there were tremendous calls for a spot-kick to be awarded.
However, the on-field referee waved play on without and, bizarrely, the Video Assistant Referee did not intervene either. The crucial qualifier ended a goalless draw; Italy secured a place at Euro 2024 in the summer, while Ukraine were controversially left empty-handed.
Had Mudryk been awarded a penalty, Ukraine would have had a shot at walking away with three points and a ticket to the European Championships next year. Despite the heartbreak for his country, the Chelsea winger can return to Cobham training ground with his head held high, especially after leaving Jorginho – and a few other Italy internationals – red-faced and in his wake.
Shortly before the hour-mark in Germany, Mudryk faced the former Blues midfielder in a one-versus-one – and there was only going to be one winner. The Ukrainian reeled Jorginho in with his close-touch dribbling before pulling off a step-over and gliding past, leaving the Arsenal star stumbling to the ground.
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A clip of Mudryk moment of magic quickly went viral on social media, with Chelsea fans lapping up the chance to taunt Gunners supporters. One user, by the handle @tovers98, posted: "Mudryk might just have ended Jorginho here…"
"Mudryk cooked jorginho so hard," posted @CFCSEZ. Meanwhile, @Asadali6678 wrote: "Jorginho hasn’t changed at all hasn’t he, I remember people wanted to keep him. Mudryk out here trying to retire Jorginho."
Despite having missed out on automatic qualification, Ukraine have still got a chance to qualify in March via a playoffs. On March 21, 12 teams will take part in six semi-finals then three finals held on March 26. All the games are one-off and single-legged, handing players another chance to represent their country at Euro 2024.
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